You suspect even Eddie Howe will have heard the roar from his hospital bed. Such was the gusto with which Newcastle United fans boomed: "EDDIE HOWE AND JASON TINDALL!" as Rockin' All Over the World crackled out of the public address system at full-time. Players and staff alike set out to put a smile on the ill Newcastle boss' face and they certainly did so during this 4-1 win against Manchester United at St James' Park.
Howe may not have been physically there on the touchline, but the manner of this trouncing was a fitting tribute: the delightful way Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali combined for Newcastle's opener; how the black-and-whites did not panic after Manchester United equalised; the ruthless fashion in which the hosts pounced on errors from Noussair Mazraoui and Altay Bayindir late on...
It was also testament to the longstanding work of Howe and his staff that Newcastle delivered a performance like this without the Magpies head coach being on the training pitches in recent days. The players knew their respective roles inside, out. They knew they couldn't let their standards slip.
The group spoke before the game about 'needing' to make Howe proud and assistant Jason Tindall was 'sure' that the victory 'lifted his spirits' after receiving a congratulatory text from the 47-year-old after the game.
"Everyone knows the commitment, the desire and the sacrifices the manager makes day in, day out to make everybody better," Tindall told reporters. "So to go out there and deliver a performance that he will have wanted and he would have been proud of was really important.
"We've worked together for a long time now. We're all very close. We all know the expectations on each other - the staff and the players - and it's important that we stick to that and not drop below the standards that the manager would want and that we set ourselves. It was really important that everyone did that. They certainly did."
That's for sure. To think Gary Neville predicted a narrow 2-1 defeat on account of his former side supposedly being 'quite solid'. Fellow pundit Paul Merson even suggested Ruben Amorim's team would 'frustrate' Newcastle.
In the end, Newcastle were so comfortable that Tindall had the luxury of substituting Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak long before full-time. There were even audible olés from Geordies in the closing stages as the hosts popped the ball around. Against Manchester United. How times have changed.
In truth, Newcastle made Manchester United look what they are - a bottom-half side - and Amorim could not help but hail the black-and-whites as a 'top team'. Those were not empty words; the Magpies could move up to third place if they win their midweek game in hand against Crystal Palace.
At a time when those sides around them are faltering, Newcastle go into Wednesday's match full of belief following five wins on the spin. The Carabao Cup winners certainly looked eager to take advantage of Nottingham Forest and Chelsea's slip-ups from the get-go on Sunday.
In fact, the game had not long kicked off when the hosts had the ball in the back of the net - only for Joelinton's strike to be ruled out after Kieran Trippier was flagged offside in the build-up. However, Manchester United soon settled. In hindsight, it is easy to forget that it was the visitors who dominated possession in the early stages and Nick Pope had to be alert to push Joshua Zirkzee's effort over the bar after the Dutchman linked up with Bruno Fernandes.
Newcastle had yet to have a shot on target, by that stage, but the Magpies made their first effort count midway through the first half. Kieran Trippier fizzed the ball into Alexander Isak's feet and the Newcastle striker took a clever touch before hooking the ball over the heads of defenders Victor Lindelof and Leny Yoro. Sandro Tonali was there to latch on to it and lash the ball home to put Newcastle in front.
Newcastle were not content with one, though. The Magpies went in search of a quickfire second and Isak was denied by Bayındır after the Manchester United goalkeeper could only parry Tino Livramento's' cross into the lethal striker's path.
Such was the intense pressure, as Newcastle pushed for another, few inside the stadium imagined that Manchester United would draw level with their next breakaway, but that was exactly what happened. There were 37 minutes on the clock when Diogo Dalot galloped up field and slipped in Alejandro Garnacho, who poked the ball past Pope and in off the post.
It was a sucker punch and Garnacho very nearly landed another before the break only for Pope to make a smart stop. Newcastle did not panic, though. On the contrary. The Magpies restored their lead just a few minutes into the second half.
Livramento's dancing feet took him past Dalot down the left and the England international's drilled cross picked out Jacob Murphy at the far post. Murphy hooked the ball back across and there was Barnes to smash the ball into the net to restore Newcastle's lead from close range.
Newcastle and Barnes were not finished yet and the forward capitalised on a slip from Mazraoui midway through the second half before racing past three Manchester United defenders and firing past Bayindir. That was the cue for a chorus of 'Who are ya? Who are ya?' from Geordies.
Worse was to come for those Manchester United fans up in the gods after Bayindir kicked the ball straight to Joelinton late on. The Brazil international headed the ball into countryman Bruno's path and the Newcastle captain coolly finished past the helpless Manchester United 'keeper to lift Howe's spirits.
